I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
by LyricalSinger
Summary: An overworked Merlin gets some TLC from his friends.


A/N: Written for the Heart of Camelot Wishlist forum. The request was for a story where someone notices that Merlin lost a lot of weight and then secretly sneaks him treats and sweets. Thanks to my beta, sarajm, for some excellent beta-ing skills.

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><p><span>I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends<span>

It had been an extremely busy few weeks and Merlin was exhausted and hungry. He'd been running around like a man possessed trying to get all his duties completed to everyone's satisfaction.

It all started with King Uther's announcement that Camelot would be hosting a meeting of the leaders of the Five Kingdoms, with all the requisite pomp that accompanied such gatherings. This meant that everyone, be they servant, knight or noble, was rushing about ensuring that everything was ready for the meeting. Camelot's reputation was on the line, and King Uther would not accept anything less than perfection.

Arthur had spent the time working with the Knights in order to prepare a special presentation for the Kings' arrival. Camelot's Knights were famed throughout the land, and this was the perfect opportunity to show off a bit and encourage the Kings to send their sons to squire at Camelot. Of course, this also meant that Merlin spent most of his time either in the Armoury polishing Arthur's plate armour and sharpening what appeared to be every sword in the castle, or he was in the Prince's chambers cleaning up the mess that seemed to follow Arthur wherever he went. Honestly, did the man not understand the meaning of a hook on the wall or a hanger in the wardrobe?

When he wasn't with Arthur, the young servant could be found either assisting Gaius or helping clean and decorate the Great Hall. All this extra work meant that Merlin was run off his feet and mealtimes were a forgotten luxury. He tried to grab something at some point during the day, but most days he really didn't have time for anything more substantial than a roll and possibly a small piece of cheese eaten on the run.

Merlin had always been a slim young man, but these days, with the lack of regular mealtimes, he was starting to look sickly. His cheekbones, always a prominent feature, now looked sharp enough to cut glass. He'd even had to tighten his belt one hole that morning, quite unlike Arthur who steadfastly maintained that the few pounds he'd added to his midsection were "all muscle, Merlin, I'll thank you to notice!"

An errand for Gaius had the young man scurrying through the castle halls and he flew by Gwaine with a hurried "Good morning".

"Merlin, wait a minute," called the knight to Merlin's retreating form.

"Sorry, Gwaine; I don't have time right now. I've got to get this delivered right away for Gaius and then I need to find the laundress and see about the linens for the tables," called Merlin as turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Surprised at the rebuff Gwaine stood in the hallway, effectively blocking the way for anyone trying to get by him.

"Gwaine, move it," said Leon as he came up behind his fellow knight and elbowed him in the ribs. "What are you doing just standing there, in everyone's way?" asked Leon as the two men stepped to side to allow the people to flow past.

"Leon, have you seen Merlin recently?" asked Gwaine.

"Yes, in fact I saw him about ten minutes ago. He rushed by me with an arm full of napkins, presumably heading for the Great Hall. Why?"

"Did he seem … okay to you?"

"He seem fine, Gwaine," answered Leon. But he thought for a moment and then said, "Actually, you know, maybe he didn't. I know he's been extremely busy recently, just like everyone else, but now that you mention it, Merlin was looking a little paler than usual."

"That's what I thought … and he also seemed to be skinnier too," said Gwaine. "You know, I can't remember the last time I've seen him eat. Now I'm wondering the last time he was able to sit down to a meal. It seems to me that the few times I've seen him with an apple or a roll, he's been eating on the run."

The two knights looked at each other, concern for their friend showing on their faces. "Well, there has to be some way we can help him," said Leon. "If you come up with anything let me know. Unfortunately, right now I'm needed at the training grounds so I'll speak with you later."

Gwaine watched Leon stride down the hallway before he turned away and started towards the kitchens. "I may not be able to help him with his duties," he thought, "but I can least be sure that Merlin gets some food into him."

Approaching the entry to the kitchens, Gwaine straightened up and threw his shoulders back. He was _persona non gratia_ there, mainly due to his various and many attempts to steal snacks, but he hoped that by pleading for Merlin's sake, he'd be able to liberate something to tide his friend over until his next meal.

"No! Out!" yelled Cook as she saw her nemesis entering the kitchen. "There's nothing for you here," she said wielding a large wooden spoon as she approached the knight.

"No, no, it's not for me," said Gwaine quickly. "I was hoping that you'd have something to spare for Merlin. He's been running around and hasn't had time to eat much over the past weeks. He's starting to look ill." Everyone liked Merlin, and Gwaine was hoping that Cook would have some sympathy for the lad's plight.

"Merlin's not eating? That boy's too skinny as it is, to go without proper meals! Just a minute, Sir Knight," said Cook as she turned towards a large table that was covered with all sorts of meat pies and biscuits. Grabbing a napkin, Cook wrapped up a biscuit and a small, slightly overdone, meat pie and handed the package to Gwaine. "That's for Merlin, remember. If I hear that this food didn't make it to him, you'll have me to deal with!" stated Cook as she shooed Gwaine out of her kitchen.

"Thank you. And I'll deliver this to him right away," answered Gwaine as he left on his quest to find his friend.

It didn't take long for Gwaine to track down the young servant. Merlin was now at the training grounds sharpening swords and watching the squires being put through their paces by both Arthur and Leon. On seeing his friend seated on a bench off to the side, Gwaine quickly sat down beside Merlin and handed over the cloth-wrapped food.

"What's this?" asked Merlin as he opened up the napkin to see the food it held. It smelled delicious and made his mouth start watering.

"I'm full from my meal and don't want the rest. I noticed you were running around earlier, so I thought you might like it … if you hadn't had time for your lunch yet."

Merlin grinned at his friend and, taking a big bite of the pie, answered, "This is delicious! Thanks, Gwaine. Yeah, I've been so busy today that I just didn't have time to stop to eat. But this is great and will keep me going."

Gwaine just smiled at his young friend, slapped him on the back and said, "Well, I've got guard duty soon, so I'll see you around Merlin."

As he crossed the courtyard, Gwaine ran into Percival and Lancelot, who were both heading towards the stables. "Have you seen Merlin?" asked Percival. "Gaius is looking for him."

"He's at the training grounds. But, if you could leave him alone for a couple of minutes, that would be great," answered Gwaine as he proceeded to explain Merlin's situation to his friends. "So, he probably only needs about another five minutes or so to enjoy his lunch," concluded Gwaine. "Considering how he looks, I think it's more important right now that he eat something, rather than run off to perform another errand."

"No problem, Gwaine. And thanks for letting us know what's going on," said Lancelot as he glanced towards the training grounds, where he could just make out Merlin's figure as he sat on the bench.

Once each of the knights had heard about his situation, they all took it upon themselves to ensure that Merlin was supplied with food. They each saved a portion of their meal and more often than not it was the fruits that were put aside for the young warlock. They all knew their young friend had quite a fondness for them, and were more than willing to indulge his pleasure if it meant that he was getting some food into his lanky frame.

Over the course of the next few days, Gwaine, Leon and the others made sure that they always had something in their pocket - an apple, a small biscuit, a roll, a piece of cheese - that they could pass on to Merlin and that he would be able to eat while continuing on with his various duties.

By the time the leaders of the Five Kingdoms had arrived and the meetings had started, Merlin was looking much more like his usual self. Of course, the servant was not a stupid man and he quickly figured out what his friends were up to. After all, there was no way they could each continue to keep Merlin supplied with meats and sweets without him realizing that they were concerned.

To be honest, once the young warlock realized what was going on, he became a bit embarrassed at the special attention. However, he soon came to the understanding that he must have been looking quite ill if his friends were willing to brave the wrath of Cook to keep him in foodstuffs. Merlin knew he had lost some weight in the past few weeks, but hadn't realized that others had noticed.

Much to Merlin's surprise, it turned out that it was not just the knights who had been concerned.

Cook was also glad to see the friendly servant back to his usual lanky but not skeletal state, and knew that the knights had had much to do with it. That's why, when Merlin came by to beg her for a batch of her famous butter cookies to thank them, she insisted that he invite them all for dinner in his chambers, and prepared the meal for him to share.

Merlin looked at the joking and laughing knights as they dug into the perfectly cooked roast, happy that his destiny included such fine friends.


End file.
